


Angel's Bow

by Hawkflight



Series: Lunar Stone [3]
Category: Final Fantasy IX, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Elemental Magic, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Torture, Punishment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-13 05:58:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4510464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkflight/pseuds/Hawkflight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A single arrow is all it takes. Just one to break the surface, shattering the facade to see what lies beneath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_She's being dragged across the floor, fingers scraping over the rough stone, trying to find purchase. But her fingers keep slipping, painting the dark grey rock a dark red as she passes over it, leaving thin trails from the tips of her fingers._

_The skin at the tips was broken after she had started trying to mark the passing days by chipping the wall of her prison. They never healed because she kept it up, every single time the sun dipped down below the small grate she had found in the back of the dungeon._

_A loud cackling echoed off the walls as she slid over the stone, grunting once when a slab of stone was turned up at the edge and caught her on the chin when she passed over it. "Enjoying the tour, Lovegood? Do you think it went good? Did you love it?" Bellatrix's hissing voice is right next to her ear when she speaks, but Luna keeps her mouth shut._

_The mad woman isn't actually looking for an answer. She's just bored and trying to entertain herself for the time being as Voldemort hasn't given her any explicit instructions for the last few days. It just so happened that this was the day she was taking out her frustration on Luna._

_Tomorrow it would be one of the other prisoners. Perhaps the goblin._

_"Lovegood," Bellatrix murmured; she could see the woman pressing a finger to her lips after speaking, staring at a section of the wall that she presumed held a painting of one of the Malfoys. "What an odd choice for a family name. Why do you think your ancestors chose it for themselves? Where did it come from?"_

_She said nothing, letting the woman become a temporary philosopher on the matter of her last name. If it was currently distracting Bellatrix enough not to want to continue dragging her naked form over the rough ground and she wasn't going to direct it back to her by even moving an inch._

_Bellatrix continued in a_ _whimsical_ _voice; possibly copying her own as she spoke, "Love-good. Good love. They could have chosen love well, couldn't they? Or are they talking about the act rather than the feeling? Do you make good love?" Luna felt a quick jab of pain in her back when she didn't answer. "No. Your family trait is being insane, believing in things that don't exist. You're almost like those muggles that believe in magic, but can't spin the thread because they don't have the blood."_

_The tip of the wand moved to her spine, trailing down the thin layer of skin on top of the bone. "So," Bellatrix murmured much more softly than before. "You come up with these creatures and what-not, making silly contraptions that supposedly see them so other wizard folk will believe you as well. Correct? Just like those muggles that pretend to be seers: waving their hands above a crystal ball, reading the lines on a hand, the tea leaves in a cup. You're family is so similar to them. I'm beginning to think you're a mudblood."_

_A quick burst of pain shot out from the middle of her back to envelop her body for a few seconds, stretching out to her toes and ears; slicing and biting into her skin but leaving no mark. "I'm a pureblood." As much as she hated saying it, she had to. This woman was obsessed with lineage, even though she could care less. She could only imagine how many burwilmes were currently around Bellatrix, feeding on the pain she caused others._

_"You should say that with more pride," the growl was clear in her tone and the prodding of the wand demanded a repeat of her performance._

_Luna cleared her throat, "I_ am  _a pureblood."_

_"Better." The wand lifted from her back. "Much better."_

_In the next second she could feel multiples blades running over her back, down her legs and up her arms, slicing at the back of her neck. The stone was grinding against her body as if she were a block of cheese, shredding her with each swift move from side-to-side._

_She was gasping out loud by the time Bellatrix lifted the cruciatus curse from her body._

_"Now don't be so_ _condescending_ _the next time you speak to me."_

_It was only a second later the Bellatrix got that grin on her face. The one that was completely fed up with her lack of subjects to torture; annoyed that she couldn't kill a single one cause each was useful in their own way. Her own being something Bellatrix liked to remind her about nearly every other day. The threat of what would happen to her if Voldemort won never grew dull though, it was just as sharp as the first time she heard it._

_But Bellatrix didn't look like she wanted to talk anymore and Luna sucked in a breath before the curse hit her again, urging herself not to scream. Not to give in to the bitch - she_ was  _a bitch. Don't scream. Don't scream, Luna. Don't-_

She could feel hands clasped over her shoulders, shaking her violently and Luna's eyes snapped open to see Kuja crouched down in front of her. "Finally. What are you doing? Screaming your head off like that when there's nothing wrong."

Her lips parted but no words came out, she could still remember her imprisonment vividly. As if it were still happening.  _All those blades piercing through to her organs..._  Her fingers twitched before she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Kuja. She willed the memories away, reminding herself that she wasn't there. The scent of  _him_  was invading her nostrils, helping to force them back. She curled her fingers into the fabric of his clothes, soft instead of rough. Everything about him was the opposite of that place, that woman, but she was his prisoner.

Imprisoned on a different world with no way back home and not knowing when her usefulness to him would pass. Even if she had been given the freedom to move around the palace, she couldn't allow herself to forget that.

Luna began to pull away, realizing what she had just done - trying to find comfort in her captor from her memories of the last one - when a pair of hands pressed against her back, keeping her in place.

"Moon girl?" his breath was warm against her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. "What is it? What's frightening you?"

She fought to find her voice, as his words seemed to vibrate through her own body; or it could just be the pounding of his heart not far from hers. "Nothing," she murmured, but the tear that slipped down her cheek betrayed her.

Luna felt his head shift next to hers and her blood ran warm a second later when a wet appendage collected the drop of salty liquid, leaving behind the smell of peppermint on her cheek. "That's not nothing. I haven't done anything to break you, have I?"

Her mind went back to the time she was lying face down on the granite floor, screaming as he used fire and ice to assure her safe passage through the palace without setting off the alarms. Beyond that though... "No."

"Then what is it?" his voice was soft, soothing.

She bit into her lip before allowing herself to speak, "Even without the room I'm still your prisoner-"

"I never said you were a prisoner."

Luna closed her mouth at his words. He was right. He hadn't ever explicitly  _said_  she was his prisoner, but his actions proved otherwise. Then she couldn't beat around the bush, as it didn't feel like he was going to let her go until she told him what he wanted to know. "I was a prisoner," her voice cracked when she spoke. "They tortured me even when I didn't know where the person was that they were looking for. They were convinced I knew because I supported him. S _he_  tortured me because she was bored. With dark forbidden magic."

"Forbidden magic?"

"You don't know the spells." It was the only information she supplied him with. He didn't believe in her way of doing magic anyway. All mentioning it ever did was make him angry and she wanted to avoid that. Avoid any punishments.

"Hmm." He was silent for a few seconds. "What would it take to convince you that you're safe here?" She had no idea so she kept silent, just breathing in his scent. "Have I not done enough to assure you of your safety? I've already said I won't hurt you unless you need to be punished and I'm not going to kill you. That would be counter-productive."

How? She wanted to ask, but he rarely answered her own questions anymore unless it had to do with the planet or the magic he and the other inhabitants used. Of which she only knew of were Zorn and Thorn; two very eccentric jesters.

One of his hands lowered and she could feel him standing in the next moment, holding her in his arms. "What are you doing?" Luna asked as he adjusted his grip on her body.

"I'm going to test a new theory," Kuja replied simply, glancing down at her and waiting for the question she would inevitably ask.

"Do you need me for it?"

"You are essential." He turned his gaze from her as he began to walk down the hall. "Unless the idea of sleeping next to me terrifies you that much."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Irony for anyone that knows what a genome is?

She shifted in the bed: right arm stretching up to curl around the edge of the pillow, pulling it down to press the soft fabric to her face, legs moving until she bumped a knee into one of his own. Luna opened her eyes briefly to make sure she hadn't woken Kuja with her movements, but as always he seemed unaffected by it.

Once he was asleep not even an earthquake could wake him up it seemed. Another thing she had noticed was that he never failed to get up at a specific time. It reminded her of those muggle movies with the robotic people and how they were programmed so specifically, but those always ended up with them rebelling and slaughtering humans for their own individual freedom. In that regard she didn't see any connection he had with those fictional creatures.

Whenever he got up it was to run experiments as far as she knew. It took up all his time as he disappeared in the morning only to reappear at night.

Usually she didn't even see him leave; as he would only make her open her eyes for a moment to answer his new routine question considering this new theory of his.

Which was working quite well so far.

She hadn't had Bellatrix visit her in her dreams since she started sleeping here, but when she wasn't here... or if she knew Kuja wasn't there when she was dreaming the mad woman was the first thing to materialize. Always taunting her, torturing her, speaking about the Death Eaters and how life would be when they had won.

But they hadn't.

She knew this and the thought still terrified her. The damned woman was dead as dead could be. Molly Weasley hadn't left anything resembling a body behind when she had killed her. Just specks of what looked like dust.

At times her nightmares consisted of her inhaling that dust. As if Bellatrix had made one last curse and done it to her many scattered remains just so she could continue to terrorize people after the war. It made her nearly believe such a crazy theory when the woman deviated from her memories: calling out to her in the dark, talking about things she shouldn't know about because she's dead.  _Dead._

Her breathing was coming faster when a palm rested against her cheek. "Stop thinking about it. This doesn't work if you think about it," Kuja's voice floated into her mind, driving away the dark fog that had descended around it.

Luna raised her gaze to look at him, still unsure how he could do that. Pulling her out of those memories, making the loud cackle that had begun to ring in her head drown out once again. Was it because of his magic? A spell he held in his arsenal? Or was it just because she believed him when he said the dreams would go away that first night?

He certainly had that air of charisma around him. If he lived in her world he could likely talk anyone into letting him into the most restricted areas just so he could run tests for more of his never-ending theories.

His thumb caressed her cheekbone and she felt her eyes wander to the bone structure of his own face. All sharp lines and soft curves. He had high cheekbones that added to that elegant look of his. His cheeks weren't exactly full, dipping in instead of rounding out; making the curve to his cheekbone even more prominent. His lips curved into a practically permanent all-knowing smirk. The bridge of his nose was thin, a piece of him that looked easily breakable if someone could get close enough before he sent a thousand volts of electricity charging through their body. His eyes were a deep sea blue, dangerous but captivating to watch.

Kuja looked superior to anyone she knew previously and he certainly acted accordingly as well. If he wanted something he took it, no questions asked. Any complaints given were ignored. Much like when he had taken her. Though when she asked him about it he called her, 'unique,' and rather than something he merely wanted something he  _needed_.

He still hadn't explained to her what he meant when he had said that, going about his experiments as always.

It reminded her of a child. With his full blown curiosity and many theories about everything; the way he was always asking questions through them and then looking for the answer immediately afterward. Like it was imperative for him to know every last detail of the universe.

If he went to the wizarding world she had to wonder if he would be interested in helping her find all those unusual creatures that she never spoke of any more. After all there was none of them here and Kuja seemed to know of every animal on the surface and under it. If there was one person that could help sate her own curiosity of her world he could do it. He had a sixth sense for figuring this stuff out and she was sure he would be just as curious about the creatures if he heard of them. Even if it were just to prove what some would call her 'ridiculous notions' wrong. He would probably have fun doing it.

"Moon girl, what are you thinking about?"

Luna blinked, staring at him for a second. She couldn't very well come out and say, the future. Not when it included him. For one thing it would merely stroke that already large ego of his. He also just might scoff at her for thinking that he held any sort of interest in her beyond being of use to him. "Nothing."

His long lashes touched down on his skin for a moment when he blinked. He didn't believe her. But who would? Everyone was always thinking of something. Nothing was never an accurate answer when you asked what a person was thinking. It was just the most basic way of saying you didn't want to talk about it.

"Your mind is a bottomless pit, then?' She tensed for a second as he leaned forward and wondered if he was going to drag the thoughts from her as his hand lifted so only the tips of his fingers were on her skin, tracing upward to press against the center of her forehead. "Did you dream?"

Luna relaxed beneath his touch. "No," she replied, just like every other morning when she had woken up here.

His fingers withdrew from her skin and she held herself in place rather than trying to follow them. To feel his skin against hers once again. Instead she watched him turn away and get up off the bed, picking up the violet mantle he had left hanging off the back of a chair before disappearing out the door. It was the only piece of clothing he discarded when going to bed. Otherwise as far as she could tell whenever he took a shower he cleaned his clothes as well and just put them back on afterwards. Unless he had a ton of the same outfits stashed somewhere in here and she didn't strike him as the sort of person that would do something like that.

After a moment Luna drew back the blanket over her form and changed out of her pajamas - a loose term for the thin silk Kuja had given her to wear - and into something else just as comfortable if not more so.

If she was going to go through the day without another thought on Bellatrix she should go with him. She had checked before and he didn't lock the door leading down to what she guessed was his lab. It was obvious he didn't see her as a threat to his work, considering she was part of his work. She hadn't ever seen Zorn or Thorn enter either though, which meant she could also avoid them for the day as well.

Luna slipped the last strap over her shoulder before hurrying out the door, bare feet pushing off the stone with each step. She got to the door in just a minute and pulled it open, descending down the spiraling staircase with one hand on the rail while the other held up the hem of her dress so she wouldn't go tumbling down to lower landing.

When she stepped off she had to pause for a moment as the hall in front of her splintered off into different paths. She listened for the sound of Kuja's voice, a bored drawl at the moment coming from the far left and headed in the direction. The words getting lower and becoming distinct as she walked.

"You did something to the ship before handing it over to me, and you're going to fix it; or I'm going to fix you."

"Fix me all you want," she could hear a woman's raised voice, before it lowered and she became unable to distinguish the following words.

Luna slowed her steps, thankful she wasn't wearing shoes that would otherwise give her position away. Who was he talking to? And what did he mean by 'fixing' her? "That's all well and good, but you're the one that left him. Not to mention the form you made him take doesn't allow for him to help you even if he could get to this land mass. Which he cannot."

"He'll make another ship to come and get me," this time she could hear the woman's soft mutter.

"I'm sure your husband will continue to tinker with his toys. But I'm not asking about the ship he's supposedly making. I'm asking about mine."

Luna stopped at the open doorway, peering into the room from around the corner to see Kuja standing on a platform and below him, in a cell, was a woman. She had long golden hair flowing past her hips and was wearing a tattered dress with smudges of dirt from the cell and what looked to be ash. "Fix it yourself," the woman snapped.

Kuja didn't yell back though. He just shook his head and made a casual motion with his hand.

The floor beneath the woman began to tremble and she immediately went scurrying like a rate to the edge of the cage, grabbing onto the iron bars as she stared down at the floor. Luna stared to as the metal split down the middle, parting to show a red yellow liquid with steam warping up from bubbles that rose to the surface, popping moments later. There was a yell from the woman as she let go of the bars, her hands now a bright angry red from holding onto the metal. There were droplets of sweat running down her face and arms now and a gasp escaped Luna as she realized the substance below the cell was molten lava.

Somehow it's heat had been contained when the floor was closed but now that the floor was open - still opening - it was spreading quickly through the cell made of metal.

The form directly ahead of her shifted. Kuja's head turned, catching her gaze from over his shoulder. His eyes were narrowed into slits and when he spoke the single word came out in a mix between a hiss and a growl, "Kimi."

_Oh, no._

One hand made a motion that caused the metal door to slide closed once again and from the corner of her eye she could see the woman shaking in a corner of the cell, still staring at the floor. But her own attention was drawn to Kuja's other hand, at the finger that lifted towards her and motioned her forward.

Luna took a hesitant step forward and at Kuja's persistent stare hurried forward the last few steps to his side. "Close your eyes."

Her body practically shook from the tone of his voice, but she did as told, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would be more amendable. She could feel his fingers trace her eyelashes, a numbness slipping through to her skin, but only in a sphere that encompassed both her eyes. Luna took in a shuddering breath as the skin around that became cold.

She tried to blink, to separate her lashes but it only sent a stinging pain through her in that sphere that went from the lashes and to her eyes. "Kuja," her voice nearly squeaked when she spoke; terrified of the crystallized ice surrounding her lashes to keep her eyes closed.

His warm breath flowed along the curve of her ear. "Shh, or do you want me to melt that off by hanging you over the lava?" She froze, feeling his presence move away from her a moment later. "Now, you wanted me to 'fix' you, Hilda?"

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you like the story.


End file.
